


Maybe this time

by stydia_fanfics



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Lydia has no friends, Nerd Lydia, Nerd Lydia Martin, Oblivious Stiles, Possibly Unrequited Love, WTF is Lydia Martin, starts off fluffy then goes to shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-07-26 18:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7584370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stydia_fanfics/pseuds/stydia_fanfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a universe where Lydia grew up a quiet and unassuming nerd, the supernatural goings on of Beacon Hills play out without her influence. Will she be able to stay out of the loop or will her banshee abilities draw her in despite not originally being part of the pack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Maybe This Time

She tripped over the door frame as she walked into the school and a couple people around her laughed quietly. Her mom had promised that this year would be different, that she would make new friends and wouldn’t have to sit alone at lunch alone. They were two weeks into the new school year and Lydia was pretty sure nothing was going to change for her, she was just going to stay a nerd forever. Pushing her hair out of her face Lydia held her books close to her chest as she hurried off towards her locker. She was half way there when someone knocked into her from behind sending her and her books to the ground. 

“Sorry!” She heard a voice exclaim. “Sorry! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Strong hands helped her sit up and Lydia tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked up to see who had run into her and stopped to help her up. Once she saw who it was her eyes went wide. Of all the people in the world to flail and fall over in front of, it just had to be the one she’d been crushing on for years.

Stiles Stilinski. 

He smiled at her and for a moment she was terrified she just might faint at the sight of him. Lydia somehow remembered how to nod her head and as soon as she confirmed that she was in fact okay he seemed to relax a little. “I’m really sorry. I got a bit over excited about something and I was in a rush to tell my best friend. I’m not the most graceful person in the world and I apologise for knocking you over with my awkwardness." 

Lydia giggled at his explanation. Of course she’s noticed his strange yet adorable way of moving. "That’s okay.” She shrugged, her face flushing just a little. “I-I’m L-” She tries to introduce herself. They don’t exactly run in the same circles. While Stiles isn’t wildly popular he’s still well liked by people and had a solid group of friends. Lydia was one of those invisible students. She sat in the front of every class, had a grade point average so high her teachers had suggested she take classes with the year above. They didn’t cross, ever. So she was surprised when he said her name.

“Lydia. You’re Lydia. You sit beside me in English. You’re crazy smart.” He chuckled and collected her books together for her. They rose to their feet and she took a moment to calm herself so that she didn’t freak out over knowing her long time crush knew who she was. Stiles handed over the books and her hands were trembling so much she almost dropped them again. “Woah there.” Stiles caught the books again. His hands over hers. “You’re gonna need a better grip on those.”

She flushed bright red and nodded, pressing her lips together. “Right. Thank you.” She pulled her hands away reluctantly. “I should…I should go.” Lydia hugged her books to her chest again as she watched the boy of her dreams nod and scratch the back of his head.

“Right, yeah. I guess I’ll see you in English then.” He smiled at her once last time before hurrying off into the crowd of people. Lydia let out a breath. He knew who she was. He knew her name. Lydia grinned to herself as she wandered to her locker. 

Maybe this year would be different.


	2. For The First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Most girls with crushes doodle hearts in their notebooks not trees."

English was a class Lydia didn’t need to pay much attention in. Given how bright she was she’d already figured out that if she kept up with the reading plan then she could easily cover any topic brought up in class should she be called upon. She rarely was though. Despite her smarts Lydia proved to be perpetually invisible unless she was to be humiliated.

Well, she thought that was the case until Stiles had bumped into her that morning. He knew her name. He knew that they had English together and that she sat in the sat next to him, the one she was currently occupying.

He wasn’t sat down yet. No, Stiles was one row back leaning against the desk of his best friend. She’s almost glad the bell hasn’t rung yet because the mild chaos that was a pre-lesson class room gave Lydia a chance to really take in the ways Stiles had changed over the summer. 

Stiles was taller, that much she could tell from first glance. He’d decided to grow his hair out and while she’d always found the buzz cut kind of adorable the tousled hair looked good on him, really good. Lydia found herself staring, biting on her nails like she knows she shouldn’t but it’s a habit she can’t quite kick. A tall brunette moved into her line of sight and Lydia looked down realising she would only make herself sad if she continued to watch the group of friends. 

The bell rang and after 20 seconds of chair scraping and pen clicking the class started. It takes her slightly longer than that to realise the small case of pens she had is no longer on her desk. Panicked she looks round and spotted Erica Reyes sharing them out at the back of the class with Isaac Lehey and Vernon Boyd. Erica wasn’t always mean she knew what it was like to be invisible but sometimes, when she was in a bad mood, she could be a real bitch.

Lydia looked back at her desk, ready to have a melt down over something as stupid as a pen when she noticed one on her desk with a piece of paper wrapped around it. Pulling the paper off gently she noticed writing on the inside. 

_Saw you needed one. Ignore Erica, she gets bitchy around this time of month._

_Stiles_

Lydia stared at the note, her heart racing. It was a pen, it was just a freaking pen but it wasn’t. It was a gesture of kindness and suddenly Lydia didn’t feel so invisible anymore. She reread the note again and frowned. Why did Stiles know about Erica’s monthly cycle? Turning her head to look at him she raised an eye brow. Stiles looked confused by her response until Lydia slyly passed the note back with a few changes.

_~~Saw you needed one. Ignore Erica, she gets bitchy around~~ this time of month. ?? Why are you aware of Erica's menstrual cycle?_

_~~Stiles~~ Lydia_

Stiles’ eye went wide and he face palmed at his stupid way of putting things down. Shaking his head, scolding himself for not being more clear and scribbled a new response on the small piece of paper. Lydia watched him with curiosity, wondering why he was even risking passing her notes. They weren’t friends.

_~~Saw you needed one. Ignore Erica, she gets bitchy around this time of month. ?? Why are you aware of Erica's menstrual cycle?~~ _

_~~Stiles Lydia~~ _

_Eww, not what I meant. Though I can’t say she’s not a bitch then either since i’m not privy to that information._

Lydia snorted a laugh which she hid behind her hand but Ms Blake still looked her way. Lydia tucked the note out of view and opened her text book to the right page, glancing at Stiles one last time. 

No one had ever smiled at her so brightly before.

———–

Lydia spent the entirety of class wondering if she should dare risk trying to get Stiles’ attention again. By the time she’d finally gathered up the courage to send him another note the bell rang. Sighing in defeat Lydia got up out of her chair and began to pack up her things. 

“I think you forgot this.” Lydia looked up to see Stiles stood next to her holding the small case full of pens. Lydia blinked in surprise and turned looked around to see where Erica had gotten too but the blonde had left the room already. 

“You got my pens back for me.” She said quietly as she took the case back off of him and slipped it into her back. “You didn’t have to do that.” He shrugged nonchalantly and smiled.in a way that made her heart melt. Lydia blushed and put her bag strap over her shoulder before picking and offering him the pen he had given her back. 

“Nah you keep it, but keep it separate to the others. You never know when this might happen again. I’d like to think you’re covered.” He chuckled and stepped back. “I’ll see you around, Lydia.” Stiles a gave her a small wave and wandered out of the classroom to go find Scott. 

Lydia smiled to herself and started collecting her books. “He seems nice, Boyfriend?” Lydia looked up to see Miss Blake watching her from behind her desk.

Lydia blushed and shook her head. “Not even a friend really. He just gave me a pen to use in class that’s all. Stiles is like that, he’s nice to everyone." 

"I can see that. Though most girls with crushes doodle hearts in their notebooks, not trees." 

Lydia looked down at the notebook for this class and saw the drawing. She frowned, not really remembering that she even drew it. She pursed her lips. "Guess i’m just different.” She mumbled as she held her books tightly to her chest and walked from the room.


	3. Hurry Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sometimes weird things happen in this town. You just gotta take it as it is.”

The next time she saw Stiles it wasn’t because he sat next to her in class or even because she saw him in the hallway. The next time she see’s him is in the middle of a crime scene and she has no idea how she even got there. 

Lydia had woken violently, screaming the air out of her lungs but for the life of her she couldn’t remember why she was screaming. All she knew was her ears were ringing with a kind of static noise and it was like a huge weight had been lifted from her chest. She’d climbed out of bed and almost without realising, Lydia had put on her coat. She’d called for her mother, telling her she was just heading to the store but there had been no response. Of course, her mother would have heard her screaming if she had heard her shouting. 

She doesn’t end up at the store. No, Lydia ended up at a community pool with blood on her hands as she unwillingly found a body. Like something out of a horror story the body sat there, throat cut, head bashed in. Bile rose and Lydia had to move away from the smell of blood for fear of throwing up. She called the police and that’s when she saw him again, climbing out of his dad’s cruiser even though he’d probably been told to stay where he was.

In her shaken form she still can’t help but notice just how perfect he looked and to her surprise he was heading straight for her. 

“Lydia? You okay?” She’d just finished giving her statement to one of the deputies when Stiles took his place. He looked concerned which made her heart flutter but fear and confusion at what was going on stopped a blush from spreading. 

“Yeah I…” Lydia still felt dazed. She looked at her hands, still tinged red from the blood that had ended up there, her ears still buzzing with white noise. “I don’t know how I got here. I was at home…and I…I wanted to go to the store but then I ended up here.” She felt her chest constrict as panic rose up. 

“Hey, no…you’re okay.” Stiles reached out and gently touched Lydia’s arm making the nervous girl smile just a little. “Sometimes weird things happen in this town. You just gotta take it as it is.” Lydia let out a shaky breath and nodded. Stiles was surprisingly good at defusing bad situations. “Do you want someone to ride home with you?”

This boy. This wonderfully kind and caring boy, who wasn’t even her friend was taking a moment to make sure she was okay and Lydia couldn’t help but flush completely. The horror at what had happened started to fade away as Stiles head her back to her own car. He lead her to the passenger side, took her keys from her hands gently and after a brief word with his father got in to drive.

The drive home was quiet. Lydia spent most of it staring at the police cruiser escorting them back to her home. As they drove it settled in how strange her night had been. It didn’t explain the look Stiles was giving her, one of worry and…distrust. It made her feel sick. 

“What?” She asked, startling him a little as he realised she knew he was watching her. 

“Uh…” Stiles looked down, ashamed. “Look I know it’s been a tough night but..Lydia you showed up at a crime scene before they even knew about it. You told the officer that you had no idea how you got there but…I mean…Lydia are you…” He let the sentence hang like she might fill in a word there. 

Suddenly the kind gesture of making sure she got home okay turned sour. Of course. Stiles probably blamed her. He probably thought she hurt that boy. That or this whole thing was some stupid joke and he was going to start laughing at her and she’d walk into school tomorrow to humiliation. Tears burned her eyes and she yanked her keys out of the ignition and got out, slamming the door shut as she did. 

“Lydia!” Stiles scrambled out of the car to follow, realising she was offended by his worked. “Lydia I’m sorry. I was just curious, okay? I wanted to know what you were. Are you like Scott or…”

“What are you even talking about?!” She shouted, her cheeks red from frustration. “I’ve had the fright of my life tonight! I woke up screaming louder than I’ve ever screamed before, terrified and I can’t remember why. I think i’m going to the store but I end up at that stupid pool and covered in someone elses blood! Now you’re…I thought you were being nice to me. God I feel so stupid. Asking me all these questions, making me feel like a freak. I get it…I am. You don’t need to make me feel like a monster as well." 

Lydia turned on her heel and ran up her drive, throwing herself through her front door before collapsing in a heap on the floor of the hall and bursting into tears. 

-

Stiles tapped his pen on the lunch table repeatedly drawing the attention of his friends without really meaning to. It wasn’t until Allison reached out and stopped him that he even realised what he was doing.

"Stiles…What’s wrong? You look like you haven’t slept.” Allison asked softly. Stiles looked up at her and then round at the other faces seated at the table. He sighed and looked down. 

“Do you know Lydia? The girl with the strawberry blonde hair in our english class?” When he saw a few heads nodding he continued. “Well…I think maybe she’s something. Something supernatural. I don’t think she’s a werewolf. Something else…she showed up at a murder scene last night, no idea how she got there." 

"Kanima?” Jackson offered, since as far as they knew it was the only other supernatural creature out there. 

“No asshat, not a Kanima…but she’s something.”


	4. Like the last time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia wants nothing to do with Stiles and his friends but as she finds herself showing up in places without realising again she’s drawn back towards them.

She didn’t speak to him for a week, not that it was difficult to avoid him. They weren’t friends, Stiles didn’t care if she was hurt by his words. Even so, Lydia still made a point of making sure she didn’t end up sat next to him in the multitude of classes they shared together. Damn him for being smart. 

Lydia was sure he had told his friends. She could feel their eyes on her as she walked down the hall, feel the burn of their gaze in class. She felt like a zoo animal. What sane person spaces out and ends up at a crime scene? Maybe that was it. Maybe she wasn’t sane and she was just fooling herself into thinking she was. 

“You’re Lydia, right?”

Lydia flinched and looked round to see the tall brunette known as Allison Argent stood there looking at her. Allison probably didn’t remember but Lydia had been the one assigned to show her around on her first day. The new girl hadn’t spoken much but Lydia has done her duty and shown her where her classes were and where the lunch room was. It didn’t surprise her that Allison had eventually become friends with Scott and Stiles, they were nice people. Well, she thought Stiles was nice, she was starting to chance her mind. 

“Yeah…That’s me.”

The smile Allison gave her was small and sweet and Lydia felt a little more confident walking to the beautiful girl. “Stiles told me what happened the other night. He said you seemed a little shaken by it and I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I've ended up in a situation similar and I know they’re not so easy to just brush off.”

Lydia knew she was trying to be nice but all she heard was confirmation that Stiles had told his friends about her. Probably mentioned how much of a freak she was too. There was wariness in Allison’s eyes that made Lydia feel like she was being looked over for weaknesses or cracks in a mask. 

“I’m fine.” She mumbled, eyes locked on the girl. Over her shoulder she can see Stiles start to approach with his best friend and it suddenly strikes Lydia how strange Stiles and his friends are. Their hushed conversations and exclusivity. Lydia was pretty sure she had seen all of them have skipped school repeatedly and last school year she found Scott running around trying to translate Latin. “I’m just gonna…”

Lydia hurried away down the hall after closing her locker, officially freaked out by the way they were all looking at her. 

“Did she react to the wolfsbane?" 

"No. Stiles are you sure?”

“I’m sure. She’s something.”

-

Lydia let the pencil drift across the paper with ease as she absent-mindedly drew the image. She didn’t pay much attention to the murmur of students around her, she was caught up in her own little sketching bubble. Lydia never even knew she could draw that well, her talents mostly lay with the academic subjects. It was refreshing to be able to so something creative. 

“That’s really good. You’re Lydia, right?”

“Hmm?” Lydia looked up briefly to see Danny Māhealani peering over her shoulder at the drawing she had been doing. “Thanks.” She looked back down to continue her shading when she heard his voice again. 

“You should be in art class.”

Lydia shrugged. She hadn’t really decided yet if she wanted to hone her new talents just yet. “Yeah maybe.” It was actually kind of relaxing, just focusing on her little doodle, getting praise for it. It almost made her forget about how freaked out she’d gotten earlier. Almost.

“Since you’re not in music." 

Her pencil stopped on the page. "What?” Looking up Lydia realised that she wasn’t sat in her AP math class but in the music room. Her heart started racing. Not again. Not all this again. Her eyes darted around the room to see if it was like last time but all she could see was a room full of impatient people.

“15 minutes.” Someone called and Lydia flinched as it rang through her ears louder than everyone else seemed to hear it. 

“What’s that?” She asked as everyone got up and out of their seats. 

“15 minute rule. Teacher never showed up.” Danny answered before joining the mass that was leaning. Lydia stayed rooted to her seat as she tried to remember heading to class but she had thought with all her certainty that she was in the right place. 

Once she was alone Lydia stood from her seat and crossed to the centre of the room. The air seemed to vibrate with energy and it set Lydia on edge. Surely an empty room should resonate stillness and not be so alive with energy. It pulled at her, leading her to the piano where she noted a recording device was set up on the music stand. There was a file already up ready to play and Lydia couldn’t stop herself from pressing play. 

The melody was nice but uninteresting so she skipped along until she noticed a spike in the recording. Pressing play again the melody continued until jarring suddenly and then silence. Her breath caught in her throat and a pressure formed in her chest that was either panic or something else entirely. 

Lydia stepped back in horror as a quiet chanting started up, quickly getting louder and louder. When she noticed the blood on the piano that was the final straw. Lydia fled from the room, dropping her note book on the ground as she did so. 

-

“I’m following a lead of my own. Scott I’ll call you later." 

Stiles was on his way out of the school when something collided with him. Well, someone. In a blur of red hair Stiles was almost taken off of his feet. Realising it was a person Stiles managed to get hold of them before they tumbled to the ground. 

"Hey are y-Lydia?" 

The strawberry blonde looked up at him, her eyes damn with tears and skin pale from fright. At that point she didn’t care that she was mad at Stiles, he was a stable force after another awful day. Curling her hands into his shirt she lowered her eyes, ashamed of her response she was just so scared. 

"It happened again.” She whispered. “I don’t know how…I don’t…I think the music teacher was…I don’t know why I was in there.” Lydia let out a shaky breath as she tried to make sense of her thoughts. “He was taken. I think he was taken and I don’t know how I ended up there but I was…”

Stiles nodded and pulled the shaking girl in. Maybe Lydia was something but whatever it was she had no clue about it and unfortunately for her, it was linked to what was happening in beacon hills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve decided this is following 3a plot line. It’s funny because this started so fluffy and now it’s getting a bit dark. XD


	5. Hold me fast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The McCall Pack try to keep Lydia away from what is going on but a chance moment with Stiles proves to be helpful for them.

She hadn’t spoken to Stiles or any of his friends since the music room incident. Her life had returned to the way it had been before. It was almost like they were trying their hardest to keep her away from whatever it was that was really going on in Beacon Hills. Lydia didn’t think she minded all that much. It meant that her life was calm again but a deeper part of her, the part of her that had surfaced in the music room, felt a great unease.

Every in depth search of the ‘symptoms’ she was exhibiting told her she was going mad and yet she couldn’t help but feel like illness was not the answer to her problem. The quiet whispers that had started in her head weren’t threatening, in fact they offered words of comfort in her trying time. They told her she was sane and that they were real and that she was special. 

Lydia Martin, special. 

She rather liked the sound of that but was it smart or logical to listen to the voices that no one else could hear? Lydia knew that she should tell someone, ask for help, but the world already saw her as a loser, a nerd, and a geek. She didn’t want or need them thinking she was a freak too. 

Lydia pursed her lips as she stared at the back of her locker, thoughts flying through her mind. Maybe she should take her mothers advice and go talk to the guidance counsellor. Ms Morrell didn’t seem so bad. A loud slam jolted her abruptly from her thoughts and she looked round to see Stiles leaning against a set of lockers just down the hall looking…scared.

It took her a moment to move. Okay it took her several moments and the colour draining from Stiles’ face for her to move. Lydia closed her locker and moved across the hall to stand in front of him. “Stiles?” She asked quietly as she looked him over. His friends were no where to be seen, he was alone and now he was starting to shake. Oh. She had seen this before, she had been through this before. “Stiles I think…”

“-I’m having a panic attack.” He gasped as he pushed off of the lockers. “I know.” The more he tried to catch his breath the more it felt like it was pulling away from him. His chest was on fire and his head throbbed as he tried his hardest to think straight. Lydia reached out and wrapped her hand around his wrist, pulling him out of the crowded hall and into the first room she knew would be empty at this time of the day. The boys locker room. 

“Okay, okay just settle down here.” She guided him into the room until his legs started to give out and she helped him to the ground. “Stiles I know you’re scared but you’re okay.” She didn’t even know the cause of the panic attack. Lydia took off her bag, her books falling out and skidding along the floor a little. At first she was afraid to touch him but she couldn’t let him pass out. “Okay…Stiles I need you to look at me.” Her hands took his hesitantly as she tried to figure out a way to calm him down. “Just…breath with me, okay? In…” She squeezed his hand. “Out…In…Out…In…Out…”

Soon enough his breathing evened out but their eyes stayed connected. Stiles’ cheeks were flushed red but he didn’t move to hide them, he didn’t seem to feel embarrassed at all that Lydia had seen him in such a weakened state. Once his breathing was back to normal he sighed in relief and sat back, his hands still clasping hers. There was a moment of stillness, of peace, and Stiles could only look at Lydia with gratitude in his eyes. Had she not shown up when she did, he may well have passed out. “Thanks…That was quick thinking.” He breathed. 

Lydia smiled to herself and shrugged, pulling her hands back from his slowly, already missing the contact. It seemed that even with everything that had happened, her crush on the Stilinski boy still held strong though now it felt purer. She was really starting to see him. His loyalty, his bravery, his humility and kindness, they were all becoming more apparent and she found herself quite fond of those qualities. “You were in distress. I was just helping out.” She looked away from him and spotted her bag, it’s contents spilt out across the floor. “Dammit.” Lydia moved to collect her things but Stiles’ hand was already there picking up one of her notebooks. 

The doodle had caught his eye. The strong lines of a tree stood out on the page and as he flicked through the pages more and more trees showed up until Stiles had to wonder if this meant something. Lydia was staring at him, what was so special about her notebook. “It’s the same tree.” Stiles murmured as he compared the drawings. “The exact same tree. Every single time.” The tone of his voice chilled her. So what if it was a tree? People drew tree’s all the time. Stiles stared at the picture a moment longer before slowly turning it upside down. “Holy shit…I know where they are." 

"What?” Lydia asked in confusion. Knew where who were. 

Stiles was already on his feet, grabbing his bag and tearing the drawing out of her notebook. “I don’t know what you are Lydia but you’re a freaking genius.” He shoved the drawing into his pocket. “I’m sorry. I’d help you pick this up but I have to go. Life or death. Thank you. So much. Seriously you have no idea how much you’ve helped me. I could kiss you." 

And then he was gone, leaving Lydia sat on the floor of the boys locker room with flushed cheeks and completely oblivious to the fact her small doodle had set in motion the actions necessary to save a lot of lives.


	6. Something's bound to begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She had started the year as a nobody and to a degree she had been content like that. They were barely into October now and she didn’t recognise her life at all.

It bugged her that he had never told her what the tree had meant. Later that night Lydia sat herself down to try and finish her homework but her concentration was gone and nothing was working to bring it back. She felt uncomfortable in her own skin, like her whole body was pulling in an opposite direction to the one she wanted to go. She put down her pen and closed her eyes. In that moment of stillness she felt her eyes prickle with tears. It seemed ridiculous to wish for days where she had been invisible and uninteresting but there she was shedding tears over her former anonymity.

These days she felt like a freak. There was a constant static in her head that rose to voices when she listened hard enough. She was broken. Her mind was broken, wasn’t it? It seemed the logical explanation. Her symptoms lined up with multiple mental illnesses and while she would never assume to have something without a proper diagnosis when you can hear voices calling to you with no one around there has to be a chemical imbalance of some sort.

Lydia wondered when would be the right time to tell her mother, her mother who was so proud of her academic achievements, so happy she was seemingly a calm and untroubled teenager. She never got the chance to finish her train of thought or decide if she wanted to tell her mother as the house phones shrill ring broke through her thoughts. She wait for her mother to pick it up, wondering who could be calling so late.

“Lydia? Sweetheart it’s for you.”

For her? Lydia frowned and got up. She headed down the stairs and took the phone from her mother with a quiet thank you before pressing the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

_“Lydia Martin? This is Alan Deaton.”_ A familiar well spoken voice sounded through the phone and Lydia instantly frowned. Alan Deaton? Dr Alan Deaton?

“The Vet?” She asked. Her dog wasn’t due a check up and everything had been fine when she took him in last time. Why her vet was calling so late she had no idea.

_“Yes I suppose that’s how you know me. I’m not calling on a veterinary matter though. You see, some of your peers need your assistance.”_ The more the man spoke the more the vail of confusion thickened. Lydia didn’t have any friends or even anyone she would class as an acquaintance. Well that’s not entirely true but she still wasn’t sure what Stiles was.

“My peers? I’m sorry I don’t understand. Why are you calling?” The whole conversation was starting to creep her out a little. Dr Deaton had always seemed like a nice man but calling her at home on something not related to her dog was very strange, stalker worthy strange.

_“You’re familiar with Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski, are you not?”_ A strange mix of relief and dread flooded through her. Relief that her vet wasn’t a creepy stalker but dread because every time she went near those two something crazy happened. She was already losing her mind, she didn’t want to speed up the process.

“I-Well yes but we’re not friends. We go to the same school.” Did she want to continue on with this conversation. Some small and scared part of her wanted her to hang up and walk back to her room to finish her homework but there was that pull again, that unexplainable tug towards a direction she was trying to force herself away from.

_“Lydia, what I’m about to tell you may sound strange but I promise you I am only telling you the truth.”_ He spoke softly as he always had with her when she took in her dog for a check up. Lydia knew him as akind man, an honest man. The want to trust him was already there.

“…This has to do with my tree drawing. Doesn’t it?” It was the only thing that made sense. The way Stiles had ran out earlier after seeing it made her wonder what was so important and now hours later she was being called to arms almost or it certainly seemed that way. Whatever this was it had to do with her winding up in strange places and while getting involved made her scared it also sparked something inside of her. This was the right direction to go in.

_“Yes. While we’re not currently aware of the part you play in all this or even what you may be, we need your help.”_ They need her help. Fear pushed up like bile in her throat but Lydia took a moment to close her eyes and push it back down.

“What do you need me to do?”

* * *

 

That’s how Lydia found herself stood in the slightly chilly back room of the Veterinary surgery, a blush on her cheeks as Deaton explained to the group the ritual they were about to take part in.

When she had arrived Scott and Stiles had taken her to one side and explained what was going on. At first she thought this was all just an elaborate prank in order to further her mental break down but then Scott’s eyes turned red and and the world as she knew it fell away.

There was a weight that came off of her shoulders after the shock subsided. She wasn’t a freak, not completely anyway. Those people in that room were all involved in something that was so much more than the world most people saw. She belonged in that world with them and yet as she was paired with Stiles and his whiskey eyes met her own jade, she’d never felt more alone. Stiles didn’t know her, none of these people knew her. She didn’t even know herself. She was a thing now, an it, and Lydia knew that was how Stiles had been looking at her the past few weeks.

Despite how kind he had been, despite how she should fit in with his world, he was still so far out of her league.

Later when her hands were cold from ice water and she was sat with her back against the bath Stiles was sleeping in Lydia wondered how she had ended up there. She had started the year as a nobody and to a degree she had been content like that. They were barely into October now and she didn’t recognise her life at all. Was this going to be a common thing now? She ended up in the lives of people who weren’t her friends as and when she could be useful to them?

Determined not to find out she got to her feet.

“Do I need to stay for the entire time he’s out?” She asked Deaton quietly, ignoring the way Isaac was looking at her from across the room. When he shook his head she grabbed her bag and made for the door.

It’s not like she was of any use to them now.


	7. It's Gonna Happen Sometime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though the dark druid has been dealt with and things seem quiet again something is stirring deep inside of Lydia.

_Lydia had decided there was nothing more perfect than the feel of Stiles hands on her skin. She let out a giggle as Stiles smiled down at her and slipped his hand up her shirt, his head bending down to put his mouth to better work. Okay so many she was wrong. There was something more perfect than his hands on her. His lips. Lydia sighed as Stiles kissed his way down her neck, his fingers drawing patterns across her waist. This was all she had ever wanted for the past few years. Stiles and her alone in his bedroom, mapping out each others bodies. To be there with him, to fall asleep in his arms, it was too good to be true._

_She woke later to a jolt in the bed next to her and opened her eyes to see Stiles sat up, his face pale and shiny with sweat, his eyes wide with fear. Lydia sat up, reaching out to him through the darkness._

_“Stiles? What’s wrong?”  
_

_Lydia ran her hand up his arm smoothing it over his shoulder with loving care and some of the tension seemed to melt from him. Lydia smiled at the knowledge that she was helping him calm down and rest her other hand on his knee. Before long he was covering her hand with his own and stroking  her knuckles gently with his thumb. Stiles mumbled something about a nightmare and all seemed well until he looked at her._

_“Lydia? What are you doing here?”  
_

_She frowned not understanding what was going on at first but then her blood ran cold. This wasn’t real. He wasn’t real. Was he? Either way it had become clear that they hadn’t spent the evening together. That had been all in her head._

_Before the dream could break apart the two of them were distracted by the door creaking open. Stiles was gone from her side almost instantly, crossing the room towards the door. Dread rose in her like a tidal wave. Something was telling her that door has to stay shut and Stiles was in danger standing so close to it._

_“Stiles, don’t.” She demanded. Lydia saw a brief hesitance in his face but he didn’t move away from where he was stood. Realising her dream was seconds away from becoming a nightmare Lydia got up from the bed and reached to grab Stiles’ hand. To ground him or to pull him away from the darkened doorway she wasn’t sure, all she knew was she needed to get hold of him and soon.  
_

_Her fingers barely brushed his as he moved, stepping out of her reach and through the dark doorway. Lydia started after him, throwing open the door and heading into the dark without hesitation but the moment her foot passed the door frame she was shoved back roughly. Landing on the floor Lydia looked up to see who or what had pushed her and was met with the image of Stiles stood looking down at her._

_He seemed to watch her with a calculated fascination, his hands and mouth now dark with what she could only assume was blood. There was no reason for it, no way he could have even had time to injure himself since stepping over the threshold into the blackness but there he was covered in blood and seemingly unaware of it. Unaware or unconcerned by it anyway. Slowly and with a grace she had never been aware Stiles was capable of he lifted a single finger to his lips. He shushed her quietly then disappeared, flickering out of existence._

Lydia woke up screaming.

* * *

She didn’t sleep for the rest of the night. Every time she closed her eyes he was stood there covered in blood, watching her. It was terrifying and she had no idea why she would have a nightmare like that. Stiles, the mysterious boy with the mysterious friends, a monster in her land of dreams.

By the time she could head to school her mind and body were exhausted from the mostly sleepless night. Lydia rest her head against her locker as she tried to push the lingering fear away. As she did her eyes wandered up the hall and she stilled as Stiles walked into view, Allison and Scott close by. They all looked tired but Stiles looked the worst by far. She hadn’t seen much of the group since the night of the sacrifice. Scott had shown up at her door a few days after and explained as much as he could. 

Learning that her English teacher had been a dark druid and that they had no idea what she was wasn’t exactly comforting but it was something to go on at least. Scott had extended his kindness to her, told her if she had any questions she was welcome to ask any of them. Even with the crash course in the supernatural she still felt like an outsider. So maybe that’s why she hid behind the door to her locker as the trio walked past. Part of her wanted so badly to call out and fall into stride with them, like a friend, like she belonged. The thought was stripped from her mind as Stiles looked up and caught her eye.

There was something about the way he looked at her, something knowing. Last night had been a dream had it not? She had woken in her own bed of course but Deaton had warned about potential side effects of the sacrifice and Lydia didn’t have the luxury of being around the group all the time like the others. Had her distance caused a ripple? She wanted to believe she was insignificant in this larger scarier picture that the self proclaimed pack were part of but the look in Stiles’ eyes was haunting and it caused part of her to stir. 

How she wished it was a flutter in her stomach or even a warm wash of feeling from the sight of her long term crush but no instead that terrifying unknown part of her was waking up. 

She could feel it clawing its way up her throat. 

She wanted to scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As you can tell we're heading into 3b! Exciting times ahead!


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